MS Dhoni: Birth, Family and Education
MS Dhoni was born on July 7, 1981, in Ranchi, Bihar (present-day Jharkhand) in a Hindu Rajput family to Pan Singh and Devki Devi. His paternal village is in the Lamgara block in Almora, Uttarakhand. His father, Pan Singh, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi and worked in junior management positions in MECON. Dhoni has a sister and a brother-- Jayanti Gupta (sister) and Narendra Singh Dhoni (Brother).
MS Dhoni: Personal Life
Before marrying his schoolmate Sakshi Singh Rawat, MS Dhoni fell in love with Priyanka Jha, whom he met in his early 20s. At that time in the year 2002, Dhoni was trying his best to get selected in the Indian team. The same year, his girlfriend died in an accident. Dhoni also dated South Indian actress, Lakshmi Rai. Mahendra Singh Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat, his school friend from DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, on July 4, 2010. At the time of their marriage, Sakshi was studying a hotel management course at Taj Bengal in Kolkata as a trainee.
On February 6, 2015, the couple gave birth to a baby girl named Ziva. At this time, he was in Australia and 2015 Cricket World Cup was a week later. He didn't travel back and quoted 'I am on national duty, other things can wait'.
MS Dhoni: Career
In the year 1998, MS Dhoni was selected for the Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team. Till 1998, he played for the school cricket team and club cricket. Whenever Dhoni hit a six in Sheesh Mahal tournament cricket matches, he was gifted Rs 50 by Deval Sahay, who selected him for CCL. With the help of his excellent performance, CCL moved to A division. Deval Sahay was impressed with his dedication and cricket skills and pushed for his selection in the Bihar team. For 1999-2000 season, he got selected in senior Bihar Ranji Team at the age of 18. He was not selected for East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) or Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy).
Bihar U-19 team advanced to finals but couldn't make it. Later, he was selected for East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy. While the East Zone lost all the matches, Dhoni finished last in the tournament.
During 2002-2003, while playing in the Jharkhand Team for Ranji Trophy and Deodhar Trophy, Dhoni gained recognition for his lower-order contribution as well as hard-hitting batting style.
In the Duleep Trophy Finals, Dhoni was picked over International cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East Zone. Through TRDW ( BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative) Dhoni was spotted by Prakash Poddar (captain of Bengal in the 1960s) who sent a report to National Cricket Academy.
Dhoni was selected for India A team for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. At Harare Sports Club, against Zimbabwe, Dhoni had 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match. In tri-nation tournament with Kenya, India A and Pakistan A; Dhoni helped Indian team to chase their target of 223 runs with a half-century against Pakistan team. He scored 362 runs in 6 innings with an average 72.40. His excellent performance received the attention of the then Captain of Indian Cricket Team-- Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri, etc.
After India A team, Dhoni was selected in the ODI team for Bangladesh tour in 2004/05. In his debut match, Dhoni was run out for the duck. Despite playing an average series against Bangladesh, Dhoni was picked for the ODI series against Pakistan. In the second match of the series, Dhoni scored 148 runs in 123 balls and made a record for the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper.
He played in the first two matches in Sri Lankan Bilateral ODI series that was held between October-November 2005. He was promoted to No. 3 in the third ODI held at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Dhoni scored an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls against Sri Lanka in a winning cause. He received Man of the Series award. In December 2015, Dhoni received a B-grade contract by the BCCI.
In a series against Pakistan, Dhoni scored 72 runs off 46 balls in the third match, helped India to lead the series 2-1. In the final match, Dhoni scored 77 runs off 56 balls, helping India to win the series by 4-1. On April 20, 2006, he was ranked as number one batsman in ICC ODI Rankings sidelining Ricky Ponting. India had disappointing tournaments-- DLF Cup 2006-07, 2006 ICC Champions Trophy.
India crashed out of the 2007 Cricket World Cup and Dhoni was out for a Duck in the matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Due to Dhoni's poor performance in the 2007 World Cup, his house was vandalised by activists of JMM. After India exited from the World Cup in the first round, Dhoni's family was provided police protection.
Dhoni was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa and England. In June 2007, Dhoni received an A Grade contract from the BCCI. In September 2007, for the World Twenty20 matches, Dhoni was elected as the captain of the Indian team. On September 2007, Dhoni shared a record with his idol Adam Gilchrist-- most dismissals in an innings in ODI.
In 2009, during the series between India and Australia, Dhoni scored 124 runs off 107 balls in second ODI and 71 runs off 95 balls in the third ODI. On September 30, 2009, Dhoni took his first wicket in the International cricket against West Indies in Champions Trophy. In 2009, he topped the ICC ODI Batsman ranking.
In 2011, Dhoni-led India to the finals with victory over Australia in quarter-finals and Pakistan in finals. Dhoni helped India win by chasing a target of 275 against Sri Lanka in the finals with Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni finished the match with a historical six with a score of 91*. He bagged Man of the Match for his outstanding performance in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
In 2012, after the World Cup win, Pakistan toured India for a bilateral series for the first time in five years. India lost the series by 1-2.
In 2013, India won ICC Champions Trophy and Dhoni became the first and the only captain in the history of cricket to claim all the ICC trophies. In the same year, he became the second India batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score 1,000 or more ODI-runs against Australia.
During 2013-14, India toured South Africa and New Zealand but lost both the series. In 2014, India won the ODI series in England by 3-1 and in India by 2-1 against West Indies.
During 2015 Cricket World Cup, Dhoni became the first Indian captain to win all group stages matches in such a tournament. Despite a great start in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, India lost the title to the eventual champions-- Australia.
In January 2017, Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the Indian team in all the limited-over formats. In the ODI home series against England, he scored well and was named as a wicketkeeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 Champions Trophy and ODI XI of the year by Cricbuzz.
In August 2017, during the ODI against Sri Lanka, he became the first wicket-keeper to effect 100 stumpings.
After his excellent performance in ODI against Sri Lanka, Dhoni replaced Dinesh Karthik as Indian teams' Test wicket-keeper. In his debut match that was marred by rain, Dhoni scored 30 runs.
During January–February 2006, India toured Pakistan and Dhoni scored his maiden century off 93 balls at Faisalabad.
In 2006, on the West Indies tour, he aggressively scored 69 runs in the first match while he improved his wicket-keeping skills and finished the series with 13 catches and 4 stumpings.
In 2009, Dhoni scored two centuries against Sri Lanka and led to India's victory by 2-0. With this victory, India ranked No. 1 in the test cricket for the first time in history.
In 2014-15 season, Dhoni played his last test series against Australia and captained the second and third test matches. Dhoni announced his retirement from the Test format, following the third test in Melbourne. In his last test match, Dhoni effected nine dismissals and broke Kumar Sangakkara record for stumpings with 134 in all the formats.
In 2006, Dhoni was a part of India's first-ever Twenty20 international match against South Africa. In his debut match, he was out for a duck but effected two dismissals.
On February 12, 2012, he made a 44 and led India to win their first-ever win over Australia. In 2014, ICC named him as the captain and wicketkeeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' for T20 World Cup.
In 2007, MS Dhoni lead India to their first-ever World T20 match. He made his captaincy debut against Scotland but the match was washed off. On September 2007, he led the victory over Pakistan in the finals.
In the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Dhoni was selected in the Indian team. Dhoni played well against South Africa, Australia and West Indies but was criticised for his strike rate against Afghanistan and England. In the semi-finals against New Zealand, Dhoni scored a half-century in the second innings but was run out at a very crucial stage. With his dismissal, India's World Cup run ended.
In the first season of IPL (Indian Premier League), Dhoni was contracted by the Chennai Super Kings for US$1.5 million, becoming the most expensive player in the first season auctions. Under his captaincy, the team won 2010, 2011 and 2018 IPL titles. The team also won 2010 and 2014 Champions League T20 titles.
In 2016, Chennai Super Kings was suspended for two years and Dhoni was contracted by Rising Pune Supergiant to lead their team. However, the team finished at 7th place. In 2017, his team reached finals but lost the title match to Mumbai Indians.
In 2018, the ban on Chennai Super Kings was uplifted and the team returned to play the IPL. Dhoni was again contracted by CSK and led the team to win the third IPL title. In 2019, he again captained for CSK and the teams emerged to be one of the strongest in the season. However, Mumbai Indians won the title.
MS Dhoni: Playing Style
MS Dhoni is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. He is famously known for his lower-order attacking mode which he later changed due to his responsibility as a captain. He is also one of the fastest running men between the wickets. His Helicopter Shot technique is loved by all which was taught to him by his fellow player childhood friend Santosh Lal.
Apart from batting, he is widely appreciated for his wicket-keeping skills by several experts of the game. He is the quickest wicket-keeper when it comes to the stumpings. He holds a world record for the highest number of stumpings by any wicket-keeper. He sometimes bowls as a medium-fast bowler for the Indian Cricket team.
MS Dhoni: Cricket Records
Test Cricket
1. In 2009, under Dhoni's captaincy, India topped the ICC Test Cricket rankings for the first time.
2. He is the most celebrated Indian Test Captain with 27 Test wins.
3. He has 15 overseas Test defeats, the most by an Indian captain.
4. He became the first Indian wicket-keeper to complete 4,000 Test runs.
5. Dhoni scored 224 against Australia. This is the highest score by a wicket-keeper–captain and third-highest score by an Indian Captain.
6. His maiden century against Pakistan is the fastest century to date scored by an Indian wicket-keeper and fourth overall.
7. Dhoni completed 50 sixes as a captain.
8. With 294 dismissals in his entire career, he tops the list in all-time dismissals list by Indian wicket-keepers.
9. He shares a record with most dismissals in an innings with Syed Kirmani.
10. He also has a record of 9 dismissals in a match by an Indian wicket-keeper.
ODI Cricket
1. Third and First Indian Captain to win 100 games.
2. Fourth Indian Cricketer to reach 10,000 ODI runs after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly & Rahul Dravid. He is also the second wicket-keeper to reach this milestone.
3. With a career average of over 50, he is the first player to achieve 10,000 runs.
4. Among cricketers with more than 5,000 runs, he has the 5th highest batting average and the 2nd highest batting average among players with an aggregate of over 10,000 runs-- 51.09.
5. With 4031 runs in his entire career, he scores most runs in ODI history at number 6.
6. While batting at number 7, only cricketer to score centuries in ODI history centuries at number 7.
7. He has 82 Not Outs in ODIs.
8. He scored 183* against Sri Lanka-- the highest score by a wicket-keeper.
9. He scored 113 against Pakistan highest by a captain batting at number 7.
10. India's highest eight-wicket partnership in ODI-- Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
11. Most unbeaten innings and the highest average among batsmen in ODI run-chases.
12. He is the only cricketer to have played most ODI matches as a captain and wicket-keeper.
13. He holds the record for most dismissals in an innings and career by an Indian wicket-keeper-- 6 and 432 respectively.
14. He has a record of doing most stumpings by a wicket-keeper in ODI history-- 120.
15. First Indian and Fourth wicket-keeper in the world to take 300 ODI catches.
T20I Cricket
1. He holds the record of most wins as a Captain.
2. He played most matches as a captain and wicket-keeper.
3. He played most consecutive T20I innings without a duck.
4. Dhoni played the most T20I innings.
5. He holds the record of most dismissals as wicket-keeper in T20Is.
6. He holds the record of most catches by a wicket-keeper in T20Is.
7. He holds the record of most stumpings as a wicket-keeper in T20Is.
8. He holds the record of most catches as wicketkeeper in a T20I inning.
Combined records
1. He holds the record of playing most International matches as a Captain.
2. He is the first and only wicket-keeper to date to effect 150 stumping dismissals across the three forms of the game.
MS Dhoni: In other fields
Ownerships
1. MS Dhoni is the co-owner of Ranchi Rays (Ranchi-based Hockey Club) along with Sahara India Pariwar. Ranchi Rays is a franchise of the Hockey India League.
2. Along with Abhishek Bachchan and Vita Dani, MS Dhoni is the co-owner of Chennaiyin FC (Chennai-based football club). It is a franchise of the Indian Super League.
3. Along with Akkineni Nagarjuna, Dhoni is the co-owner of Supersport World Championship team, Mahi Racing Team India.
Business
In February 2016, Dhoni launched his brand 'SEVEN'. He owns the footwear of the brand is the brand ambassador of his company.
Production House
MS Dhoni has a production house named 'Dhoni Entertainment'. The first show produced under this banner was a documentary web series premiered on Hotstar-- Roar of the Lion. The series had MS Dhoni himself in the lead role.
Territorial Army
In 2011, MS Dhoni was conferred an honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Indian Territorial Army for his contribution in cricket. In August 2019, he completed a two-week stint with the Army in Jammu and Kashmir region.
MS Dhoni: Awards
1. In 2018, he received India's third-highest civilian award-- Padma Bhushan.
2. In 2009, he received India's fourth-highest civilian award-- Padma Shri.
3. For 2007-2008, he received India's highest honour given for achievement in sports-- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
4. In 2008, 2009, he was awarded the ICC ODI Player of the Year.
5. In 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014; he was awarded the ICC Wolrd ODI XI.
6. In 2009, 2010 and 2013; he was awarded the ICC World Test XI.
7. In 2011, he was awarded Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year.
8. In 2006, he was titled as the MTV Youth Icon of the Year.
9. In 2013, he received the LG People's Choice Award.
10. In August 2011, he received an honorary doctorate by De Montfort University.
MS Dhoni: Movie and Series
In 2016, a Bollywood movie based on the life of MS Dhoni was made. The story outlined his journey from his childhood to the 2011 Cricket World Cup, starring Sushant Singh Rajput in a lead role. and The movie was titled 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'.
On March 20, 2019, a web series titled 'Roar of the Lion' was released on Hotstar. It was based on his life and the time he spent with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL (Indian Premier League).
MS Dhoni: Cars and Bikes Collection
Cars Collection: Open Mahindra Scorpio, Maruti SX4, Hummer H2, Toyota Corolla, Land Rover Freelander, GMC Sierra, Mitsubishi Pajero Sfx, Mitsubishi Out Lander, Porsche 911, Audi Q7 SUV, Ferrari 599, Jeep Grand Cherokee
Bikes Collection: Kawasaki Ninja H2, Confederate Hellcat, BSA, Suzuki Hayabusa, a Norton Vintage, Hero Karizma ZMR, Yamaha Rxz, Yamaha Thundercat, Yamaha Rx, Ducati 1098, Yamaha Rd 350, Tvs Apache, Kawasaki zx14r Ninja, Confederate Hellcat X 132, Harley Davidson Fat boy, Enfield Machismo, Customized Tvs Dirt bike
MS Dhoni: Net Worth
In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked Dhoni as one of the world’s top-earning sportsperson. Dhoni owns a hotel in Ranchi named 'Mahi Residency'. He also became the highest taxpayer sportsperson in India for the year 2012, 2013, 2014. As per several sources, his net worth is approximately US$103 million.
MS Dhoni: Controversies
1. In the year 2007, Dhoni's locality was undergoing a water crisis. Amid this, 40 residents of his locality filed a plea against Ranchi Regional Development Authority (RRDA) for wasting 15,000 litres of water in M.S. Dhoni's home in the daily maintenance of the swimming pool.
2. He was involved in another controversy over tax evasion. His bike Hummer H2 was mistakenly registered as a Mahindra Scorpio, the charge of registering which is Rs.53,000 instead of Rs.4 lakhs that the Hummer H2 required.
3. During 2013 IPL spot-fixing, Dhoni's name emerged as he was in the contact of Gurunath Meiyappan, who was named in betting charge sheet.
4. In 2016, Dhoni resigned as the brand ambassador of Amrapali Real Estate Group after the residents from one of its unit faced logistical issues and started a social media campaign.
Dhoni did his schooling from DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Ranchi, Jharkhand and excelled in multiple sports such as badminton, football and cricket. He played as a goalkeeper for his football team and played cricket for a local club.Dhoni showed impressive wicket-keeping skills at the Commando Cricket Club during 1995-98 and was picked up for Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship for 1997-98 session and played well. After completing his High School, Dhoni focussed on Cricket.
During 2001-2003, Dhoni was a TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) at Kharagpur Railway Station, under South Eastern Railway in West Bengal.
